Guided Actions of the Void
by unknownforce
Summary: Ramza and the other eleven Zodiac Braves assumed that their duties were done. Little did they know of yet another evil power hiding in the mist, one of cunning and power even greater then the Blood Angel Altima.(Rated PG for language and slight violence)
1. Chapter 1:Duty Of The Mercenary

"Keep alert, we never know when we might run into trouble".  
Linten continued on into the dark forest, the rest of his mercenaries bringing up the rear. It seemed odd for some of the greatest mercenaries in all of Ivalice to be marching in the woods late at night.  
Linten was wondering what exactly they were dealing with on this strange mission. He and his men had been briefed by the rich nobles of the nearby town that many people who left town after dark had never been seen again, and not even a trace of their bodies could be found. According to Eurich, the head noble of the village, he had already hired knights with high reputations to see to the problem. None had returned, and Eurich decided to hire the best of the best to stop whatever it was that was killing the citizens. Linten had been a knight for over twenty years and it was little doubt that he had the skill that could match that of nearly any elite knight of Ivalice. His five companions were nearly equally matched to their leader, and the six of them together made up a very powerful fighting force indeed.  
---  
They continued to walk in near silence, only the howl of the wind and some cries of cuars could be heard in the night. Linten noticed the brightness of the stars, which almost appeared as if they were beckoning them forward into the darkness. "What are we dealing with Linten? These woods contain nothing I know of capable of strength of defeating parties of warriors." The question had been raised by the group summoner, Ori.  
Linten had been pondering the question himself. "I can't say for sure. It is either a strong and smart monster, or a group of bandits planning to get a ransom for captured nobles."  
Juris, the group's archer, held up his hand in a signal for the group to stop. "I see some rustling up ahead. Its too far to make out very clearly, but I think its at least human size."  
"Whatever it is, I doubt its friendly. Lets play it safe and take no chances."  
Juris pulled out an arrow from his quiver. Whatever the thing was, it had come out from its hiding place and was out in the open now, although it was still too far away to make out more then its size. Juris took the opportunity to fire a magical arrow with perfect aim at the creature.  
Evidently, the creature had seen the arrow flying towards it and conjured up a protective aura. The arrow bounced harmlessly off the protect spell, crashing into the ground and caused a fiery explosion upon impact with the forest floor.  
Linten cursed. It was a human after all, and if there was one around, there had to be others nearby. These were most likely highly experienced bandits if the spell caster could so easily deflect a lightning arrow. "We need to take him out before he warns the others!"  
Juris readied another arrow, this time preparing to fire an ultimus arrow, while Ori started to conjure up a spell. However, before either could begin their attacks, a bright light lit up above both of them. "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"  
Juris and Ori did not need to hear the call from Linten to know they had seconds of their lives left. Juris realized he was dead, having no chance to dodge a holy spell no matter how fast he moved, and hoped his companions would revive him quickly, impressed at the skill of this strange fighter. Ori tried to save himself by changing his summon, beginning to summon Carbunkle instead (the ability to switch summons in mid- cast was something very few summoners could manage) yet it was still too late.  
The bright light over Juris's head soon turned into a huge burst of energy, killing the highly experienced archer instantly, while the same thing happened a second later to Ori, who died before Carbunkle could reflect the holy spell.  
Linten was somewhat frightened that two of his companions had been killed so quickly, but knew better then to panic. This was certainly not an ordinary foe, and from facing hundreds of battles Linten knew being calm in battle was the best way to stay alive. "Ryo, revive them quickly! Huno and Nyoken, lets go!"  
Linten began to charge at the dark figure who was still impossible to identify in the dark night. Huno and Nyoken slightly behind him, they're weapons drawn. Linten had his Aegis shield in front of him, ready to try to block any magic the foe (who seemed to be a very strong priest) used on him.  
Sure enough, he felt the air around him begin to heat up and pulled out his shield while jumping as far as he could to the right. The flare spell left a huge gaping hole where Linten had been less then a second ago, and he quickly realized even an Aegis shield, famous for blocking magic attacks, would have not saved his life from the flare.  
During the casting of flare, Huno had leaped into the air, now close enough to be able to hit the strange wizard who had to be a calculator with his sharp lance. After jumping high into the air (but not too high should he risk hitting the tall trees), Huno could finally make out the man, and without hesitating flew down towards him, lance prepared to kill the man before he even noticed where the lancer had vanished to while he was casting magic.  
Against almost any opponent, the attack would have worked, especially since it was preformed at twice the speed a normal lancer moved, but the strange man was ready for it. Right before Huno landed a killing blow with the lance, the man, with inhuman speed, reached under a cloak darker then the night itself and pulled out a large sword. Hugo saw the blade at the last second and tried to dodge, but the man had already planted to blade right through his crystal armor and into his right lung. Huno was at a true state of shock, he felt himself unable to take in any oxygen and took a look into the face of the man who killed him. The horrible eyes were the last thing he ever saw.  
Linten and Nyoken could not match the speed of a lancers jump while they were foot, and stood helpless as Huno landed right where their foe predicted. Linten was horrified at the brutal death of his close friend. Would there be time for Ryo to revive him before it was no longer possible? Linten refused to consider that his old friend might die and pushed the thoughts aside, focusing his eyes on this very strange man.  
The man (or at least he appeared to be a man) was quite tall, wearing the same attire a wizard normally wore. However, instead of the normal blue wizard cloak and a green outfit (and yellow pointed hat), his entire outfit and wizard hat, which managed to hide the mans face, was a very dark black, covered with what looked like shining red stars. It looked almost like the man was the sky night itself. He could have nearly blended in perfectly if the red stars were instead white. The appearance of the man caused Linten to shudder. There was something very sinister about this wizard...  
Linten needed to buy time for Ryo to heal the others before he charged into combat blindly, so he asked the wizard a question, shield still ready in case this brutal man refused to answer him and took the chance to attack. "Who are you, and how is it that you have both calculator skills and skill with a sword?"  
The wizard starred at him, his dark yellow eyes the only part of his face that could be seen. He replied in a voice that sent chills down Lintens spine "who I am is not of any importance to you, for you will soon be sent to hell and tormented by demons. You will be suffering too much to even remember our encounter, so please forgive me for not answering your questions."  
Linten was horrified once more, but he was not about to show fear to this wizard. He had to buy more time for Ryo, all of their lives depended on it...  
"I think you underestimate us a great deal. I happen to be one of the greatest of the Nanten knights."  
The wizard continued to glare at him with his dark yellow eyes. "Is that so? It was my understanding that the Nanten knights are no more. One of the men I killed ten days ago revealed that bit of information. Was he mistaken?"  
"No, his claim was accurate. The Nanteen knights were broken up after Delita took the throne. With a new plan of peace, Delita saw no more need for us or the Hokuten, so both were disbanded."  
The wizard continued to look at Linten curiously. "I can tell by your face that you are an honest man. How odd that you have become nothing more then a common mercenary."  
"On the contrary, working as a mercenary allows me and the others to fight to help others! We fight for money only to make a living, and charge no more then we need to keep alive. Of course, I doubt one of your kind could understand what helping others is."  
The wizard continued his deep stare. Linten silently prayed that Ryo would be there soon. What was taking him so long? He could see that Nyoken, still to his right at the point where he could see him without breaking eye contact with the wizard, appeared to be wondering the same thing.  
"I see I have found one of the worlds few remaining men of honor, how quaint. What makes your story even more amusing is that you are telling no lies. Do you realize where your virtues and notions of justice have gotten you? They've brought you and your friends into the pits of hell itself, and it will not be long now until you are suffering beyond anything you would have believed possible. That, my foolish knight, is where your virtues have gotten you. By the way, your friends are nearly past the point of death where they can be saved. Did you ever think to turn around?"  
Linten was filled with fury at this horrible thing before him (he doubted it was human), yet did as he had been suggested. A few feet behind him was Ryo, somehow being held in midair by a spell, but was without a doubt dead.  
Nyoken had also seen the sight, and screamed in anger. He charged at the monster that could not possibly be human, and Linten followed as well, fueled by sorrow and hatred.  
Showing incredible speed once more, the wizard teleported away less then a second before he was beheaded by Nyokens samurai sword and appeared behind Linten. Linten ducked and tried to kick the wizard before he could cast a spell, but the wizard was much too fast. A spell hit Linten, and before he knew it he was unable to move or even feel his body anymore. He stood in mute horror at his hands which were stone gray, realizing he had been petrified.  
Nyoken charged at the wizard once more, hoping the wizard would expect a blind charge of fury and not be ready for a true attack. When he neared his foe, he quickly stopped his charge, jumped into the air, and screamed out into the night, "Flame-eating sword, swipe away the evils! Cirijiraden!"  
The draw out spell hit the wizard, but appeared to have no affect. Nyoken stammered in horror, praying this was all just a horrible dream.  
"Not a bad use of the skill, you almost surprised me. Next time you may want to concentrate on power rather then speed though, you wasted most of the energy trying to speed the attack up. Now then, allow me to show you magic with speed and power combined."  
Nyoken was splashed with a dark green form, and at first felt no pain. Then it began, a horrible pain ran through his entire body. He screamed in agony and fell to the floor, trying to get back up but unable to do so.  
"Poison used at its best can prove as deadly as nearly any spell, and certainly the most painful. Would you not agree, knight?"  
The wizard was looking at the petrified form of Linten, knowing full well the man could see and hear the sight taking place before him. Linten could do nothing as Nyoken was screaming in pain. Soon the brave Nyoken could stand it no longer. He would not give this bastard the pleasure.. With the last ounce of strength he had, Nyoken plunged his samurai sword into his heart. The pain had finally stopped...  
Linten tried to scream in anger, tried to break out of his prison, tried to save his dead friends before they were gone forever, but he could do nothing at all. The wizard walked over to him and patted his frozen shoulder. Linten put every bit of his concentration into breaking the spell and putting his sword through the creatures black heart.  
"Well knight, as interesting as our skirmish was, I have to say that I have grown tired of dealing with your kind. Tell me, have the Zodiac Braves arrived yet?"  
The wizard stared into Lintens frozen eyes. "Interesting. You have no idea do you? I can't risk making my presence known should the Zodiac Demons still live. If you wish to defeat me and revenge your comrades, you will find out if the Zodiac Braves have arisen yet, and if so, find out who they are. Once you have found them, tell them to come to this forest if they value the lives of the innocents, for I will continue to kill until the Zodiac Braves come here to contact me. Your petrified state will wear off as soon as your companions are no longer capable of surviving even with the aid of a phoenix down. If you wish to restore their honor and get revenge for their murders, you will do as I say. Farewell, young knight."  
And with that, the dark wizard vanished into thin air, leaving not trace of leftover energy which normally occurs from a teleport.

**Authors Note-**

**Greetings to all who came across this story. Originally I had planned on making this story two chapters or so, but after plotting the ideas and starting to write it I figure that I may end up making it longer. I suppose it all depends on where things go. Any comments would also be appreciated and I'll be sure to reply to any of them.  
  
There are two things I should mention about the story that takes a different turn then the game did at its normal ending point. I decided on two changes that I think fit the game a bit better then what occurred while playing it. The first change is that during the battle at the thieves hideout, Ramza and Delita end up sticking up for Miluda DURING the fight instead of after. Am I the only one who found it odd that Delita made the comment "Ramza, I do not think she is our enemy" yet the two continue to fight her anyway without any further comments? It seemed that it was the perfect point to reason with Miluda, and for some reason the game felt it important to kill her off. I believe that if Ramza and Delita explained themselves and Miluda saw how little they truly knew about the side they were fighting for, she would have offered to join them if they decided to stop aiding the Hokuten (which they would have agreed to upon hearing about Dycedargs plans). From there, Weigraf ends up joining as well, seeing Ramza as a strong ally in the fight against injustice, especially since they both wish to uphold justice and equal treatment. It turns out to be Gafgarion, who after being mortally wounded, steals the holy stone from Ramza and becomes Velius (rather then Weigraf).  
  
The other change is that Zalbag does not perish from Adramelk. I think it made more sense that Ramza (who had no idea Dycedarg had killed Balbanes) would have become enraged and have charged at Adramelk before the beast could steal the soul of Zalbag. Both of the changes are ones I made because I thought they fit the game much better and made more logical sense. Just my opinion of course, and hopefully nobody will strongly disagree. **


	2. Chapter 2:Return Of An Old Nemesis

The Faire Inn had a knack for drawing some very odd characters. For this reason, nobody in the bar paid the least bit of attention when a tall red cloaked figure strode into the bar. The tall figure walked over to the inn keeper, who also happened to be the bartender as well.

Innkeeper Hemi was what most people would have considered a fun loving and jolly fellow, and certainly a man not to ask questions when it was unnecessary. He noticed the tall figure walking towards him, and quickly piped happily "greetings sir, what can I do for you this fine evening?"

"I have only a single question for you, good sir. By any chance, have you seen this man?" The stranger suddenly lifted up his hands, and with that a burst of light formed. The next second it took the shape of a man.

Hemi was greatly shocked at this incredible sight. He had seen many strong wizards before, but never one able to do that! The strange figure that had been created looked very familiar.. He wondered if he should tell this strange man (it did seem that he had a male voice) about the strange group that had stopped very briefly for supplies that had a man looking identical to the one before him now. After considering, he felt that it would do no harm telling this man, for even if he was unfriendly, the group that had stopped by would be more then safe from a single person.

"Why yes, I saw him and some companions pass by less then an hour ago. Are you acquaintances?"

"You could say that. Any idea which way they went?"

The innkeeper frowned slightly, trying to remember which way he had seen them go. "I believe they were going outside of town in the direction heading towards Limberry. I think they said something to each other about stopping to eat shortly, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding them."

The figure stood up and tossed the man some gil. "Thank you, consider this a tip for your information." With that, the figure walked outside, leaving Hemi grinning at his good fortune. No man willing to give away such a good amount of gil could be unfriendly!

As soon as the cloaked figure walked outside of the inn and left the crowded streets, he met up with two companions, also wearing red cloaks. He muttered softly to them "Ramza, I have found him at last..." With that, he and the other two red cloaked figures broke into a run. A bit of the mans dark blond hair could be seen whipping through the wind where the hood was unable to properly cover it.  
---

It turned out that the innkeeper had been more correct then he ever would have guessed, for there was a pretty large group not too far outside of town now, and they were indeed within a field that lead towards Limberry.

The group was without a doubt one of the strangest one would ever see. While the humans within it did not appear out of the ordinary, there was an assortment of very strange creatures that accompanied them. There was a giant metal man, known to only a few as worker number eight, a large demon known to the party as Byblos, a huge powerful type of hydra called a tiamat (which was called Nidro by the other monsters and the humans who could speak to it), a few chocobos of varying colors (two yellow, one black and one red), and last but certainly not least a very large blue dragon (known as Ursio to the party). It was no wonder the group had to eat outside of the towns! Imagine what people would have said if they had seen such horrifying creatures! No, it certainly seemed better to keep the monsters and worker number eight out of view at all times possible.

The humans in the group were probably the most skilled fighters in the world, for they formed the Zodiac Braves of legend. It was interesting that the legend had said there were twelve Zodiac Braves, for Ramza, leader of the group, saw all of his allies, human and not, as Zodiac Braves, and there was not a single person in the group who would argue with this. The Zodiac Braves (the humans anyway) consisted of Ramza, Alma, Agrias Mustadio, Malak, Rafa, Miluda, Weigraf, Orlandu, Zalbag, Meliadol, Beowulf, and Reis (although at the time of the defeat of Altima, Reis was still trapped in her dragon form). When these incredible fighters were combined with the additional help of their additional allies, they appeared unbeatable.

The feast that lay before the group was somewhat of a celebration, but at the same time was also the last meal they would all eat together before going their own ways. After being able to free Reis from her imprisonment as a dragon and sending back a very strange man back to the future, it was time for many of the group to go back to their old lives.

"Dig in, everyone!" Ramza was trying his best not to think of the sorrow he felt at losing many of his best friends and perhaps never seeing them again. He tried to occupy his mind by considering how excellent the food was, but the strategy certainly did not work. Instead he tried to watch worker 8 as it scratched its robotic head watching Orlandu eat and tried to keep from laughing, but despite the funny situation he felt himself remembering everything his companions and himself had done together.. There was a part of Ramza that desperately wanted to keep the group intact forever. Still, the more rational side of Ramza knew that they could not all stay together forever. Even though nearly half of the group had decided to remain with Ramza, it was impossible for him not to feel as if he was losing a part of himself with the departure of many of his best friends.

Alma, sitting closest to Ramza, could sense the grief and pain her brother was feeling. She knew there was not much that could be done to cheer him up, but tried all the same. "Brother, you stopped eating."

Ramza turned to face his sister and tried to keep a happy smile on his face. "Well yes, I was busy watching worker 8".

Alma looked at the robot and laughed herself. Worker 8 was now poking Orlandu, asking in its very strange voice "**Orlandu, how do you eat this food? Scanners indicate that it is a substance too strong for human teeth to chew through**." "I have a feeling your scanners picked up the bones in the meat, we don't eat those" Orlandu explained politely. "**I see, so what purpose do the bone materials serve?**" "Not everything has to serve a purpose to us. In this case, the bones will end up being a meal for another creature after we finish eating."

Alma and Ramza both chuckled at the conversation. Worker 8, though it proved incredibly quick at learning, still did not seem to understand many things that had appeared so easily learned for everyone else. Some of the group members, especially Meliadol, had found it best to just ignore the robot altogether. Still, everyone, even Meliadol, liked and respected the robot, even if it did get on their nerves from time to time.

It had taken Alma a while to get to know the group, but nearly all of them were kind and nice, even if they did not show it outwardly. Rafa, Miluda, Mustadio, and Orlandu had been nice to her right away and she had been able to get along with them instantly. The others were a bit more challenging to get to know even though they all remained polite and courteous, but over the few weeks they had been together, all of them had eventually warmed up to her and proved that their tough outter shells held great levels of kindness and warmth within.

The non-human creatures were the same way, even if they did not speak human tongue (aside from Byblos and worker 8). Reis had been able to reveal to Alma what the dragon and the Tiamat were saying, and so at one point she had managed to have a conversation with them with Reis dictating between them (which she had been very excited to do, its not everyday you can talk to such creatures) and they seemed nice enough despite being so strong and appearing dangerous. Byblos kept to himself and rarely spoke, but had saved Alma's life and when she had spoken to him afterwards to thank him he appeared very wise and somewhat kind (which was very surprising considering that it was a creature that had been raised to kill anything it saw). Worker 8 did not have much of a personality of its own yet. Though the robot was certainly kind and polite to everyone, it still had quite a lot to learn about the world in pretty much all aspects.

Yes, there was no doubt that Ramza had formed a group of truly amazing humans and creatures, but it came to no surprise to Alma, since her brother was such a great person himself. She still could not believe the sacrifices her brother had made to save her. Still, what made him most honorable was that truly did not care if history ignored his actions and made Delita out to be the hero instead, for he and the rest of the party knew the truth and had done the right thing for the world.

Alma looked around the wide circle of heroes. Currently, Orlandu and worker 8 were still in conversation, and Mustadio had jumped in as well, finding the situation very humorous. Weigraf, Miluda, Rafa, and Malak were also chatting to one another in between eating. Agrias and Meliadol were in deep conversation, and appeared to be discussing combat as they commonly did. Beowulf and Reis were feeding the dragon and the tiamat while the four chatted (apparently Reis had taught Beowulf how to speak to the creatures as well). Ramza was now chatting with Zalbag, the two discussing the current condition of Ivalice and what could be done to improve it. Lastly, Byblos appeared to be quite interested in the food in front of him, eating it at an extremely fast pace. The chocobos were nearby him, eating their greens happily.

Just as soon as Alma was starting to think everyone was at peace for the time being, worker 8's eyes started to flash red. "**Warning, humans approaching. Distance: 500 meters. Moving at a fast rate, a speed matching that of chocobos.**"

Everyone quickly reacted to the warning call of the robot. It was unlikely that something heading their way this late at night was likely to be friendly. Ramza took charge, calling out for order. "Lets wait and see who it is. Reis, try to hide Ursio and Nidro. If the people coming are friendly, I don't think seeing two large dragons will keep them friendly for long-" (Ramza was interrupted as Ursio growled angrily at being referred to as a dragon, but he didn't have time to apologize at the moment), "Worker 8 and Byblos, try to keep cover as well until we know who it is."

Reis organized Ursio and Nidro, Beowulf aiding her by trying to find something large enough to cover such enormous creatures. Worker 8 had turned on its camouflage mode, which did not work very well but still made the robot somewhat difficult to see. Byblos had moved behind a small rock, ready and waiting for any movements. Everyone else was standing now, holding up their weapons and hoping that they were not about to get into a confrontation.

It did not take long until the humans that worker 8 had detected were heading towards them. It appeared to be three figures riding chocobos dressed in a heavy red cloaks, but it was impossible to tell who they were. They stopped suddenly, and the one in front dismounted his chocobo, standing there looking at the party before him.

Ramza asked simply to the nearest figure, who was probably the leader, "who are you?"

The figure took a second to reply. "Well well Ramza, we meet again at last. It's been ages... Surely you remember me? No? How about now?"

The figure removed its red hood. Under the hood was the face of a young man who looked about Ramzas age. He had short yellow hair, dark brown eyes, and a very familiar smirk on his face...

Ramza looked at the man in complete shock and horror. "Algus?! Is that you?!"


	3. Chapter 3:A Very Unexpected Reunion

Algus smiled, an expression on his face that was impossible to read. "Right in one, I'm impressed old friend. I see that my memory has remained after all."  
  
Ramza could not believe the sight before him. It made no sense! Algus had died five years ago! The memory of that horrible day was suddenly heaving itself out of Ramza's subconscious...  
  
---  
  
"C'mon! Animals are animals! I'll prove it to you!!" Algus was standing on top of a large hill, his crossbow ready for the charging assault of Delita. The rest of Ramza's men were charging at the Hokuten knights and wizards who Algus had called to support him. Only Ramza was staying back, yelling at his chemist in a complete panic. "YOU HAVE TO SAVE HER!"  
  
The chemist looked up at the dead body of Teta and shook his head sadly. "I'm very sorry Ramza, but by the time I get to the bridge it will already be too late.."  
  
Ramza shook his head, she could be saved! She HAD to be saved! He ran after Delita to help him, and together they would save Teta...  
  
Ramza shouted as loudly as he could to the man who murdered Teta "Why are you doing this? Algus, why!?"  
  
Algus shouted in reply, "It's your brothers orders, please don't ask why. Now if you will excuse me, I'm rather busy."  
  
Delita was still charging at Algus, who had thrown his crossbow to the ground and had pulled out his mythril sword. "ALGUS! You murdered Teta! I'll kill you! I swear it!" Algus laughed, and shouted in reply, "I could shoot you, but I find the best way to slay an animal is by butchering them!" With that, Algus charged at Delita, and the two entered into fierce combat.  
  
Both sides froze to watch the battle that unfolded between the two. Delita was stronger then Algus, but was in such a fury that he could not fight properly. On the other hand, Algus was quick, and was fighting tactically by dodging the strong blows without much of a problem. He continued to taunt Delita, trying to infuriate him even more until he became exhausted.  
  
Ramza was running towards the two and could not make out what they were saying. Even so, he managed to hear Delita, as he shouted out in fury "you won't confuse me! Nobody uses me!!"  
  
"Delita, are you all right? Let me help you!"  
  
Delita jumped back from Algus's sword slash and screamed at Ramza, "Leave me, Ramza! After Algus, you're next!"  
  
Algus laughed again. "Blaming Ramza for your failures are we? You could not be any more pathetic!" Again, Algus charged forward. Seeing an opening in Delita's stance, he moved in for a killing blow. Somehow, Delita managed to dodge the blow and smashed Algus in the face with a counterattack. Algus fell to the ground and tried as best as he could to parry the attacks of the incredible fury that was Delita. One of the Hokuten knights asked if Algus wanted help, but Algus shouted "I can handle him!" and continued to fight.  
  
"Damnit, DIE!" Algus slashed Delita's right arm in a fury of his own. Delita did not even clutch the deep wound but howled out in an inhuman sound. Algus jumped up and tried to impale Delita in the chest, expecting that Delita would be in too much pain to get out of the way in time. Delita had incredibly managed to ignore the pain, and he jumped to the side, slicing Algus across the neck.  
  
Ramza could do nothing but watch in horror as Algus's dark brown eyes light up in pure shock and disbelief. Algus muttered through gasps, "damn you... How could I lose to weakings like you?" He then fell over, dead before he hit the ground.  
  
---  
  
Ramza continued to look at Algus in pure and utter disbelief.  
  
Before he could think of anything to say, Miluda had shouted loudly "YOU! Sold your soul to Lucavi have you? I should have expected as much from one of the most ignorant and petty nobles I've ever seen!"  
  
Miluda had dealt with Algus before, and their meeting had certainly not been a pleasant one. When Ramza and Delita decided to join with Miluda and became angry at Algus for his ignorance and cruelty towards anyone who was not a noble; Algus had ran off, but not before uttering terrible profanities to Delita and Miluda.  
  
Algus starred at Miluda, who he did not have any trouble recognizing. He held up his hand. "I see you remember me as well. Before you decide to attack me, know that I did not come here to fight you. I never sold my soul to Lucavi. It would have been pretty challenging to do since I never died."  
  
"You can't be alive.. I saw Delita kill you..."  
  
Algus turned to Ramza again and ignored Miluda, who looked ready to charge at Algus if he did even the slightest thing to provoke anyone. "You are right Ramza, by all accounts I should not be alive. I myself thought I was dead, having seen everything gone dark and having felt myself vanish from the world. Yet as soon as I felt myself leave, I felt myself return the next moment, back into the world in a great deal of physical and mental pain."  
  
"Impossible.. There was no way you could have survived such a deep wound.."  
  
Algus snorted, "I'm surprised at you Ramza. Have you not figured it out? I DID die, but I was restored to life. By this." Algus held out his hand and revealed a very ordinary looking ring on his finger. "My father had given it to me long ago, telling me the ring seemed to have no defensive function but was very rare and valuable none the less. None of my family, not even myself, knew that it was an angel ring. It managed to revive me minutes after I had died, although I was brought back on the very brink of life. Luckily, I happened to have enough strength left to grab the single potion I held within my bag. My survival instinct took over, and before I could even wonder how I could possibly be alive, I used part of the potion to heal my fatal wound. As soon as the wound was healed, I heard a very loud explosion."  
  
Ramza could not believe what he was hearing, but it all made perfect sense.. Suddenly, shock within him was replaced by fury. "You murdered Teta! How dare you show your face to us!"  
  
Alma heard her brother's accusation and for the first time realized who had murdered her sister and best friend. It had been Algus!? The timid boy who had been with Ramza and Delita!? Alma felt an incredible anger within her (one she was not familiar with) and felt a part of her longing for Algus to attack them so Ramza would have a justified reason to kill him.  
  
Algus looked down at his feet, showing an emotion Ramza had never seen within him. It appeared to be.. Was it guilt?  
  
"Yes.. I did.. I could tell you that I never meant to kill her, that the death corps captain had shifted to the right at the last second in a reflex even he was not aware of, but what good would it have done? You would not have believed me then, and Delita would not have believed me either, just as I doubt you will believe me now."  
  
"So you decided to taunt Delita and laugh at him after his sister had just been murdered because you thought it was funny?!"  
  
"No, I did it because I wanted to survive. I admit I hated Delita, but I had nothing against his sister, even if she was from a common family. I knew Delita would try to kill me, and I had to defend myself. However Ramza, you cut me off before I could get to a very important aspect of my story. It happens to be a very important element involving Teta.."  
  
Ramza was still infuriated but kept silent, he realized that it would take all of his will power not to charge at Algus and kill him, and he tried to hold back this urge for the moment.  
  
Algus seemed to notice Ramza's fury, and returned to his story in a hurry. "Now then, as I saw the explosion of the fort, I could do nothing but sit there and watch, still too weak to attempt to run. I watched until the explosion ended, and saw that the entire foundation of the fort had been destroyed. I then watched as you, never seeing me, had walked away. I continued to sit there, marveling at my life being restored and how it had occurred. I then saw Delita, not too far from me, standing over the dead body of his sister. Somehow, he had managed to get out of the way of the explosion in time before it had incinerated him, and had saved his sisters body in the process."  
  
"It was at that moment, while I watched him dig a small grave for his sister, that I felt a strange emotion within me. For the first time, I felt that I had been lied to. My father, my friends, other nobles, everyone had always told me that commoners were worthless, weak, and inferior creatures void of emotion. Yet, I realized at that moment that such an idea was false. Delita had showed emotion. He had shown fury at the death of someone he loved, sorrow for her loss, and he had shown that he had great power within him. It went against everything I had been taught! Was Delita an exception to the rule? I realized that it was impossible. All these years, common born people had been humans like the nobles.."  
  
"Something within my mind concluded that it all made sense.. Common born men and woman were regarded as inferior so that it gave nobles an excuse to mistreat them. They were regarded this way so that we could take advantage of them without feeling that we were doing wrong! We justified mistreatment by saying it was God's will for them to be inferior creatures, only so that we would benefit! It had been so obvious, yet I had never seen it before.. For the first time, I not only felt I knew the truth, but I felt disgust, sorrow, many emotions I had never thought existed within me.. In only a moment, the world had suddenly come crashing down on me, quite literally.."  
  
The only members of Ramza's party who had known Algus were Miluda, Ramza, Zalbag, and Alma, (though Wiegraf had seen him very briefly as well). All of them were feeling a shock even stronger then when they had seen Algus alive. Algus was showing insight into the system? Algus was regarding commoners as equals? Such a shock would have been matched only by Vormav pledging his loyalty to Ramza! Ramza was having trouble keeping on his feet. He was starting to wonder if this was some Zodiac demon in disguise, but remembered that with the defeat of Altima, the Zodiac demons were now trapped for eternity.  
  
Algus noticed the look on Ramza's face. "I see you have trouble believing me? Well then, allow me to prove that I tell no lies. Teta, why don't you take off that hood?"  
  
"TETA?!" Ramza and Alma shouted out in unison.  
  
The hooded figure to Algus's left took off its hood, revealing a female face that also looked remarkably familiar..  
  
Ramza and Zalbag stood gawking, too stunned to react or speak. On the other hand, Alma had run up to her adopted sister and hugged her, sobbing loudly. "Oh my God, Teta! Your alive!"  
  
Teta was crying too. "I'm sorry Alma, I had to wait until Algus explained things before I showed myself. I'm so glad I'm finally seeing you all again!"  
  
Alma had let go of Teta, just in time for Zalbag to run up to her and hug her himself. "Teta! I'm so sorry! I don't know why I allowed Algus to fire that arrow at Golagros! I tried to stop him at the last second but I was too late! Please, try to forgive me.."  
  
Teta was somewhat shocked at the behavior of Zalbag, who she was used to showing very little emotion (and she was feeling a bit of pain at the strength of Zalbag's hug). "It's all right Zalbag.. I know you never wanted to hurt me."  
  
Zalbag realized he was probably crushing her with his hug and let go. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you alive.." Ramza then rushed in for a hug of his own, and Teta could not help but laugh through her tears at the reunion of her long lost family.  
  
"Teta! How is it possible? Algus said that he saw Delita bury you!"  
  
"It's true, Delita did bury me. However, Algus had figured out the power of his angel ring and decided to restore my life. It turns out Algus was not a bad person. He was just someone who, like many nobles, had gone along with mistreating others because they had knew of nothing else."  
  
While the reunion was taking place, Algus had turned to Miluda and Wiegraf, both of who were still more then overly cautious of the boy. He walked over to the pair and held out his hand. "I owe both of you a very sincere apology for my behavior in the past. I made many mistakes long ago, and I hope you can forgive me for how I treated you and your men."  
  
Miluda looked at her brother, unable to speak for herself (it seemed her mouth was incapable of movement at the moment). In response, Wiegraf looked at Algus and smiled. "I do not judge a person based on their past, Algus. The man of strongest character is one who can admit to his past wrong doings and learn from it, and it seems you have done so. I accept your apology, and apologize myself for the actions of Gustav and his faction of the Death Corps for kidnapping the Marquis. However, I cannot say if my sister accepts the apology." Wiegraf held out his own hand and shook Algus's hand.  
  
Everyone present turned to Miluda, who still seemed to be having trouble speaking. Finally, she asked "are you really the person who told me I was a loser that had lost sight of life?"  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
"I'll agree with my brothers wise words. I forgive you for your past actions if you are willing to prove you have learned from them."  
  
Algus bowed slightly. "I suppose only time will tell if I can fulfill the proof you need, but I hope I can do so. Thank you, both of you, for your honor and forgiveness."  
  
Next, Algus walked back to Ramza. As he had done with Wiegraf and Miluda, he held out his hand. "Ramza, I also owe you a heavy apology. I hope that my explanation can at least allow you to understand why I acted as I did, even though I realize it is not an adequate excuse. Will you be able to forgive my past actions?"  
  
Ramza stood there for a second. It felt like there was only one thing he could say.. He held out his hand and shook Algus's as Wiegraf had done. "I accept your apology Algus, and I believe that you really do understand the consequences of your actions. Though I still find all of this hard to believe, I am very glad we came across one another."  
  
"Wait a minute Ramza, we have to be cautious here. Worker 8, can you use your scanners to see if these figures before us are human and not the undead or illusions?"  
  
Orlandu, always logical, had asked the robot this question. Worker 8 emitted a few loud beeps before replying "**scanners indicate that these are human beings. Heart rate is normal, indicating no sign of undead status**."  
  
Ramza smiled, "well, even worker 8 agrees with your story."  
  
Algus grinned. "That's good to know. After all, I did not want to have to shout an old classic phrase to prove I was the real Algus if the need did not exist."  
  
"What phrase is that?"  
  
Algus laughed, "now we must fight. Eeaaaaaaagh!!!!"  
  
Ramza laughed heavily for the first time in months with Algus, while everyone else present wondered what exactly was so funny. Algus was one of the few people who had been there when Ramza had uttered the ridiculous phrase during battle against the Death Corps five long years ago. 


	4. Chapter 4:A Presence Of Great Evil

While Ramza and Algus were busy laughing, Ramza had managed to forget about the last figure, who still had its hood on. The figure, who had remained silent for a great deal of time, finally decided to speak.

"Algus, now that you and Teta have explained everything, I believe it is time that I introduce myself to Ramza and the others."  
  
The last red cloaked figure had removed its hood, revealing an old man with dark gray hair and very light green eyes. Ramza did not recognize the man at all. He walked over to Ramza and bowed politely.  
  
"Ramza, I am Pirsca. I am honored to meet you, as well as your friends."  
  
Ramza bowed in return and replied, "Are you the one who has been taking care of Teta and Algus?"  
  
"Not exactly. The three of us have traveled together, and though I have taught them much in the ways of magic, they have taught me many things as well. In reality, we all looked out for one another, rather then one person presuming leadership. It is a shame that we could not have found you earlier. However, we still may be of use against the Zodiac Demons should you require our help."  
  
"You know about the Zodiac Demons? How!?"  
  
Pirsca stopped smiling. "I'm not much of a story teller I'm afraid, but I will do my best. On a dark night a few years ago, a very horrible man arrived at my dwelling. The man tried to kill me, but I managed to subdue him with magic. After reading his mind, I learned of the Zodiac Demons, and much more. I also discovered that my attempted murder had been due to a stone I found long ago within my cavern."  
  
Yidow held up a bright stone, which was none other then yet another Zodiac stone! Everyone in Ramza's party could not believe the sight. There were fourteen stones!? Despite their shock, the party kept quiet as Ramza inspected the stone silently. Ramza pulled out Scorpio from his bag and held it up to the stone Pirsca presented.  
  
Instantly, the two stones reacted and started to glow. Scorpio turned a bright red, while the new stone glowed in a very strange grayish color. Ramza did not appear surprised, but nearly everyone else did (all of the humans, that is).  
  
"Another Zodiac stone.. It makes no sense... How many of these could there be?"  
  
Pirsca put his stone back. "I believe that we hold all of them. The man who attacked me was controlled by one of the Zodiac Demons. Therefore, he knew an incredible amount of information. As soon as I read his mind, he somehow broke free of my spell and vanished. The man was named Rofel."  
  
"Rofel?!"  
  
Ramza clenched his fist in anger. Rofel had been the man who killed Rad while his back was turned. Rad had been a good and loyal friend, and Rofel had incinerated him with a powerful magical spell. A phoenix down was worthless against such brutal magic. To make mattes worse, Rofel had found the death of Rad highly amusing. All of the other members of Ramza's party looked angry as well. Rad had been the only member of Ramza's party ever to have been permanently killed in battle, and the death had affected everyone. Still, it had affected Ramza most, who blamed himself for not stopping Rofel earlier.  
  
Pirsca seemed to notice the anger and pain in Ramza's eyes. "I see that you have met him too. He was a horrible man.. I detest violence and fighting, but I should have killed him when I had the chance. He was a brutal murderer who had killed many, but I still did not wish to kill the man if I could have avoided it. A mistake I regret now.."  
  
Ramza sighed deeply. "You can't blame yourself for showing mercy. The only one to blame for the murders committed is Rofel himself.. You do not need to worry though, Rofel was killed by a friend of mine."  
  
"I see.. I do not like asking, but I'm afraid the question must be asked. I have heard that you vanquished Altima and the Zodiac Demons, but is it true that you have done so?"  
  
Again, Ramza was surprised at the knowledge of this man."Yes, but how did you know that we fought Altima?"  
  
Pirsca looked very relieved. "That is a great relief.. To answer your question, Algus, Teta, and I have been searching for you for a long time. However, it appeared impossible to get reliable information as to your whereabouts. Not too long ago, we arrived at Orbonne Monastery where it was rumored your party had last been seen."  
  
Pirsca paused for a second to let out a loud cough, but then continued. "The building appeared to have no survivors inside, aside from an injured knight. While Algus healed the knight, I tried to ask him what had happened. The knight seemed completely out of his mind. First he started shouting about Altima being defeated and with its death he was now free. However, the man suddenly became full of terror. He started to beg us to kill him, screaming out that hell would come to earth with the death of Altima. From what I had learned from Rofel, Altima was the essence of Lucavi itself, and a being of pure evil. Therefore what the man was shouting made no sense, so I assumed he had lost his mind. He tried to kill himself after Algus healed him, and I had to subdue him with a spell. When I tried to read his mind it proved impossible. We ended up bringing him to Garriland, and left him in the care of a wizard, who promised to see to his well being."  
  
Ramza and everyone else were quite amazed by the tale. Ramza himself was at a loss of words and said nothing. The silence was eventually broken by Alma. "Teta, have you been with Pirsca all this time?"  
  
Teta nodded. "After Algus saved me, the two of us tried to find our way back, but the cold was too intense. Both of us eventually fainted. When I woke up, we were inside the home of Pirsca."  
  
"Pirsca is a great man, and a wizard of incredible power. I had never even heard of many types of spells he is capable of before meeting him" added Algus.  
  
Pirsca waved aside the compliment. "Oh Algus, you do me too much credit. Both yourself and Teta were able to learn the magic which I discovered without too much difficulty."  
  
"Yes, but we could only learn so much! Compared to yo-"  
  
Teta was cut off by yet another loud beeping of worker 8. "**Apologies for interrupting, but another human appears to be approaching. It seems to have the undead ability of teleportation."**  
  
Ramza smiled. "Another friend of yours?"  
  
Pirsca did not appear as laid back and had a very serious expression. "No, Algus and Teta are my only companions. Whatever is approaching is probably not going to be as friendly as us. Only skilled time mages are aware of teleportation abilities, so we are probably dealing with an undead creature."  
  
"We better prepare for the worst then. Everyone, get ready in case the undead creature decides to attack us. It might be a vampire."  
  
"There!" Agrias, who had remained quiet throughout the entire scene but was paying strong attention nonetheless, had pointed to a relatively tall figure, which had teleported nearby without making a sound. Everyone turned to the figure, which appeared to be a middle aged man with a very solemn expression.  
  
The man seemed to notice how highly unnumbered it was. Instead of drawing its weapon, it called out in a voice only Orlandu recognized, "I sense that you hold the Zodiac stones. Hand them to me immediately."  
  
Before Ramza could reply, Orlandu shouted out "Linden?"  
  
The man shook his head. "Incorrect. I used to be Linden, but I am now something much greater. I have been granted many great things. I no longer feel remorse when I kill, nor do I feel love. I can demonstrate my loss of remorse if you refuse to give me the Zodiac stones."  
  
"What the hell happened to you? Who are you serving?"  
  
Linden laughed quietly. "I serve only myself. I will give you one last chance to surrender the Zodiac stones."  
  
Ramza stepped toward the figure, appearing quite angry. "You are outnumbered and stand no chance against us. You should leave, I don't want to have to fight you if it can be avoided."  
  
Linden looked at Ramza, and Ramza took a step back. Lindens eyes were pure black.. Ramza had never seen such dark and cold eyes in a human.. "You have just proven my point. Emotions are a weakness. Allow me to show you how they can be exploited."  
  
Linden raised his hands, and a large black barrier appeared out of nowhere. The barrier rose up into the sky, forming a protective sphere around Ramza and Linden, and blocking everything else from view. . "Very foolish, boy. You carry all of the stones with you, and you decided to risk your own well being if you could avoid violence. The mistake will cost you your life and the Zodiac Stones, for you stand no chance against me without your companions."  
  
Ramza starred up at the thick darkness surrounding them. He could not even hear his friends on the other side. "What have you done?!"  
  
"I have done nothing but prevented you from escaping. Your companions cannot help you now. I will kill you and take all of the Zodiac stones. Prepare for death!"  
  
Ramza had drawn his sword just in time to block a slash from Lindens sword as the man had charged at him with a great deal of speed. After blocking the strike, Ramza threw his sword into the air. The movement knocked Lindens sword out of his hands as well. Before Linden realized what had happened, Ramza punched him in the gut with incredible force.  
  
Linden did not even react to the punch. He teleported into the air, grabbed his sword, and teleported behind Ramza. He swung his sword at Ramza's neck, but Ramza had ducked quickly enough to avoid the blow. Ramza then rolled to the ground, and stood up in time to catch his sword as it fell into his hand.  
  
"Impressive speed and skill. It is unfortunate that I have additional skills other then that of a sword."  
  
Linden held out his hand and launched an electrical attack out of his palm. Ramza jumped out of the way, and Linden launched a second bolt. The second hit Ramza in the chest, and Ramza yelled out in pain. Linden launched yet a third electric strike, but Ramza rolled out of the way. Ramza took the opportunity of the roll to throw a yuragi darkness, and it hit Linden right in the palm. Ramza threw three more of the dark throwing stars in rapid succession, but Linden teleported again and avoided them. The stars flew into the black barrier and vanished.  
  
Linden held out his uninjured hand, and this time a white ball formed. Ramza recognized the ball as a spirit, having seen the attack used before by ghouls. Linden threw the spirit at him, but Ramza vanished in a puff of smoke. The spirit did not hit its target and went crashing into the barrier, letting out a shriek before vanishing.  
  
"Enough of this, I will show you what true power is!" Linden began to channel dark energy. A second before Ramza hit his opponent, Linden had finished preparing for the attack. "Aurora, exhale bloody air! Dark Holy!"  
  
The dark energy had a large enough range that it cast the entire barrier within an unholy blast. Linden was unaffected by the energy, but the attack would kill any living being instantly. As soon as the blast subsided, a large crater had been formed where the blast hit, but the barrier had remained unharmed (being created with the same type of energy).  
  
"What foolish attempts.. Now I just have to find the-"  
  
Linden gasped as he felt a strange feeling in his sides. He looked down and saw Ramza kneeling in front of him. He also saw that two swords that had been impaled within him.  
  
"Impossible... You could not have survived unholy magic..."  
  
"If I reflect the magic I can." Linden gasped as he realized the boy was wearing reflection armor.  
  
Linden eyes widened. "How could I have made such a pathetic miscalculation? Damnit.."  
  
Linden fell to the ground, clutching the two large wounds caused by Ramza's swords. Ramza noticed a change in the mans eyes after he had sworn. His eyes had changed from dark and lifeless to blue. With the change in his eyes, Linden suddenly appeared to be in a great deal of pain.  
  
"Where... Where am I?"  
  
Ramza ran to Lindens side. "You need help! Remove the barrier! My friends will be able to cure those wounds!"  
  
Linden looked at Ramza, and then to the dark barrier. He remembered... "Oh my God.. I have to help my friends! Help me.. Please! My friends need to be revived!"  
  
Ramza looked at the man in shock, having no idea what he was talking about. "You have to remove that shield! I promise I will help your friends after we heal you!"  
  
Linden realized for the first time how injured he was. He felt the pain and clutched his sides. "Ughhhh.." He forced himself to look at the strange black cloud surrounding them. "I... Caused that?"  
  
Ramza cursed under his breath. "How can I break the shield? There must be a way!"  
  
Linden felt more memories flooding into his head.. He suddenly remembered everything he had done during the past two weeks. He remembered how he could suddenly sense the energy of the Zodiac stones, that he felt every feeling in him had dying.. He recalled how the only desire within him was to get the Zodiac stones at all costs. The change was the work of the creature that had killed his friends!  
  
Linden's eyes appeared to be burning with fury, and Ramza stepped back, afraid the man had been feigning the act to catch him off guard. Linden tried to stand up, but fell down again, coughing uncontrollably.  
  
"It's too late.. To late to save them.." He turned to Ramza. "I'm sorry.. I don't know what happened to me. No time to explain.. You have to go to Yugo woods, located outside of Yardow Fort City. There was a horrible creature there that killed my friends and did something to me.. It wanted to fight you, told me to tell you to come there.. It said that if you do not comply, it will slaughter innocent people until you arrive.."  
  
Ramza gasped. It was impossible! Could it be that there were demons that still lived? Could another powerful demon be trying to find the Zodiac stones? But they were all trapped forever!  
  
Linden coughed again and realized he was not going to live for much longer. "Please.. Please avenge my friends and the innocent people murdered.. The monster is very powerful.. It has skills unlike anything I ever went up against.. Please..."  
  
Linden coughed once more, and his chest stopped moving. Before Ramza could do anything, Linden exploded in a burst of black light. Ramza had to shield his eyes from the horrible dark light, and the volume of the explosion caused his hearing a great deal of pain in addition.  
  
As soon as the sound stopped, Ramza turned his gaze back to where the dying man had been. Linden was gone without a trace, and the dark barrier had vanished as well..


End file.
